Jeri Lynne Johnson

Who is Jeri Lynne Johnson?

Jeri Lynne Johnson is the Founder and Music Director of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, the first and only multi-ethnic professional orchestra in Philadelphia.

Maestra Johnson is a graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Chicago, is an accomplished conductor, composer and pianist. From 2001-2004, she was the assistant conductor of The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, where she dedicated herself to bringing inspiring new music to the stage. She has led orchestras around the world including the Colorado Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, and the Weimar Staatskapelle. Alongside prominent woman conductors Marin Alsop and JoAnn Falletta, Ms. Johnson was heralded on the NBC Today Show as one of the nation’s leading female conductors. In 2005, Ms. Johnson made history as the first African-American woman to win an international conducting prize when she was awarded the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship.